Oral monitor

ABSTRACT

An oral monitoring system is provided. The oral monitoring system includes one or more cameras configured for installation in a mouth for capturing images. A memory is configured for storing images. One or more processors are configured to process images captured by the one or more cameras, and a wireless transmitter is configured to transmit data corresponding to the captured images. A chemical sensor is further provided and the wireless transmitter is further configured to transmit data corresponding to substances detected by the chemical sensor.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/479,591, filed Sep. 8, 2014, which is incorporated by reference as iffully set forth.

BACKGROUND

Children and adults may make poor choices about the foods they consumeand their dental hygiene. They may sneak sugary snacks, eat at times notconducive to health, or neglect to brush their teeth. Particularly, itis difficult for parents to continuously monitor eating and hygienebehavior of their children to ensure that they engage in healthfulbehavior. Children may not be completely honest to their parents abouttheir eating habits. It may also be difficult for a person to monitorhis or her own eating and hygiene behavior. Adults for example may notbe honest with themselves about their eating habits.

SUMMARY

This Summary introduces simplified concepts that are further describedbelow in the Detailed Description of Illustrative Embodiments. ThisSummary is not intended to identify key features or essential featuresof the claimed subject matter and is not intended to be used to limitthe scope of the claimed subject matter.

An oral monitoring system is provided. The oral monitoring systemincludes one or more cameras configured for installation in a mouth forcapturing images. A memory is configured for storing images. One or moreprocessors are configured to process images captured by the one or morecameras, and a wireless transmitter is configured to transmit datacorresponding to the captured images.

An oral monitoring method is provided. The method includes providing oneor more cameras and installing the cameras in a mouth. One or moreimages are captured by the one or more cameras, and a processordetermines a health state of the mouth or a substance consumed by themouth based on the one or more images. A notification is transmitted toa user based on the determined health state or substance consumed by themouth.

In an alternative oral monitoring method, one or more chemical sensorsare provided. The one or more chemical sensors are installed in a mouth.The one or more chemical sensors detect a substance, and a processordetermines based on the detected substance if a notification isrequired. A notification is transmitted to a user based on the detectedsubstance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING(S)

A more detailed understanding may be had from the following description,given by way of example with the accompanying drawings. The Figures inthe drawings and the detailed description are examples. The Figures andthe detailed description are not to be considered limiting and otherexamples are possible. Like reference numerals in the Figures indicatelike elements wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing edible substances and other consumables inrelation to a human mouth with an oral monitoring device installed on atooth therein.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing data flow from an oral monitoring device ina mouth to various computing devices.

FIG. 3 shows a plan view of upper teeth in a mouth where oral monitorsare mounted to the teeth.

FIG. 4 shows a plan view of upper teeth in a mouth where oral monitorsare mounted to braces attached to the teeth.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the oral monitor shown in FIGS. 1-4.

FIG. 6 illustrates an abstract hierarchical operation of the oralmonitor of FIGS. 1-5.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are flow charts showing oral monitoring methods.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENT(S)

The terms “a” and “an” as used herein do not denote a limitation ofquantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one of thereferenced items. Any directional signal such as top, bottom, left,right, upper and lower are taken with reference to the orientation inthe various figures.

Referring to FIGS. 1-5, oral monitors 10 attached to teeth 4 in themouth 2 of a human person are shown. Each oral monitor 10 includes ahousing 12 which houses hardware 102. While a human mouth is pictured,the oral monitor 10 can alternatively be attached in the mouth of ananimal. The oral monitors 10 are configured for adhering to a surface ofthe teeth 4 as shown in FIGS. 1-3. Alternatively, the oral monitors 10can be attached to orthodontic devices on the teeth, for exampleattached to braces 6 adhered to the teeth 4. The hardware 102 includes acamera 116 configured for capturing images and one or more sensors 108for collecting information to determine the chemical composition ofsubstances which come into contact with the oral monitor 10. Each oralmonitor 10 is configured to send data corresponding to collected imagesand chemical composition of substances to wireless communication devices30, such as routers, cellular communication devices, or other networkconnectable communication devices. Alternatively, an oral monitor 10 cansend such data to one or more other oral monitors 10 installed in themouth 2. The oral monitor 10 is configured to determine the occurrenceof consumption activities, for example smoking a cigarette 13 ormarijuana 14, oral or nasal consumption of legal or illicit drugs 16,eating food 18, brushing teeth with a toothbrush 20 and toothpaste 22,and drinking an alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverage 24.

FIG. 6 illustrates abstract hierarchical operation of the oral monitor10 from basic hardware 102 devices to the higher level operating system124. While the oral monitor 10 is illustrated, similar processor basedsystems exist in other devices. At the lowest abstraction level is acollection of basic semiconductor hardware 102 devices, typicallyintegrated circuits. Such semiconductor hardware 102 typically includesone or more memory devices (“memory”) 104, one or more processors(“CPU”) 106, one or more sensors and their support electronics 108(e.g., chemical sensor), input/output (“I/O”) 110 device support (e.g.,RF transceivers 15), and glue devices 112 as required to change voltagelevels or signal levels and to perform other interfacing as required forproper hardware 102 functionally. A power supply 114 can derive powerfor the oral monitor 10 from a conventional battery, or alternatively,can derive power from food sugar collected through aperture 115 in thehousing 12. Alternatively, the power supply 114 can derive power throughbody motion.

Still referring to FIG. 6, the next level of abstract hierarchicalprogression is firmware 120, if required. Firmware 120 is useful forenabling upgrading of the oral monitor 10 by storing, in non-volatilememory, settings such as model numbers, version numbers, and controllingbits which establish a set of functions and limit or restrict the oralmonitor's capabilities.

Moving up the abstract hierarchical progression from the firmware 120 isan operating system 124. The operating system 124 provides a set of coresoftware programs that manage the semiconductor hardware 102 andfirmware 120 and implements common services required for applicationsoftware. The operating system 124 includes a low-level “kernel” routine126 that handles basic software integration to the firmware 120 andhardware 102 to implement underlying functions. The core services 130are software functions that support the on-board services of the oralmonitor 10. The core services 130 can include software routines thatsupport and enable the application framework, system security,connectivity, and virtualization.

The memory 104 of a particular oral monitor 10 is configured for storingimages captured by the camera 116 of the particular oral monitor 10 orimages captured by one or more other cameras 116 from other oralmonitors 10 located in the mouth 2. The camera 116 can capture stillimages or motion video including a plurality of images taken at aparticular frame rate. The CPU 106 is configured to process capturedimages, and a transceiver 15 is configured to transmit datacorresponding to such images to wireless communication device 30 such asa cellular communication device (e.g., smartphone), wireless enabledpersonal computer, or wireless router. A chemical sensor 108 isconfigured to detect food sugar. The CPU 106 further is configured toprocess food sugar information collected by the chemical sensor 108, andthe transceiver 15 is configured to transmit data corresponding to suchfood sugar information to a wireless communication device 30. The CPU106 is configured to perform activity classification and stateclassification by implementing a classifier against the captured imagedata and/or the collected chemical sensor data. The oral monitor 10 haswireless network communication capability for example wireless Ethernet(e.g., IEEE 802.11 “Wi-Fi™” protocol) and Bluetooth™ enablingcommunication with wireless communication devices 30 to allow fortransmission data from the oral monitor 10.

The housing 12 of each oral monitor 10 can be adhered to the surface ofa tooth 4 using a suitable orthodontic adhesive. Alternatively, thehousing 12 can be attached to an orthodontic apparatus such as braces 6.FIGS. 3 and 4 show a plan view looking up at the upper teeth where oneoral monitor 10 is mounted to a central incisor tooth 4, and two otheroral monitors 10 are mounted to first molar teeth 4 on opposite sides ofthe mouth 2. The cameras 116 face laterally and outwardly as shown byarrows in FIGS. 3 and 4 to capture images of objects and substancesentering the mouth and objects and substances within the mouth, and tocapture images of the condition of the teeth 4 and gums 5.

The CPU 106 can determine whether teeth have been brushed based onimages captured by the camera 116 and/or data provided by the chemicalsensor 108. The CPU 106 can implement software to apply a classifier tocaptured images and/or data provided by the chemical sensor 108 todetermine if the tooth brushing has occurred. The CPU 106 can furtherdetermine based on images from a side camera 116 directed at the teethan amount of plaque on the teeth 4, a formation of a cavity in a tooth4, a tooth abscess, or other dental or medical anomaly in the mouth. Itcan further be determined based on the images when a threshold amount ofplaque has accumulated on one or more teeth. Such determinations can bemade for example by implementing a classifier. A notification can betransmitted by the transceiver 15 responsive to determining a medical ordental anomaly or responsive to determining a threshold amount of plaquehas accumulated.

Consumption activities can be determined by the CPU 106 for example byapplication of a classifier based on images captured by cameras 116and/or data provided by a chemical sensor 108, and a correspondingreport can be generated. Determined consumption activities can includefor example an indication of a type of food eaten using the mouth 2. Inan exemplary implementation, a camera 116 can take a video showingeating activity, and a classifier running on the CPU 106 can determinethat activity is a food eating engagement. A chemical sensor 108 candetect the amount of sugar in the food, and if the sugar exceeds aparticular level, the food is classified as a snack item. The durationand time of day can be determined for the eating activity, and thenumber of eating engagements per day can be determined. This activityinformation can be transmitted to the person in whose mouth the oralmonitor 10 is installed or a parent of a child in whose mouth the oralmonitor 10 is installed. Such monitored person or parent can thereforeknow the number of times during the day that the monitored person isengaged in eating, and the number of these engagements that involved theconsumption of snack food.

Smoking activity can be determined and reported based on images from thecamera 116 and/or chemical data from a chemical sensor 108. Smokingactivity can include tobacco smoking, marijuana smoking, or smoking ofother substance, legal or illicit. The chemical sensor 108 can beconfigured to detect legal or illicit drugs smoked, ingested or consumedin any manner, orally or nasally, which results in a chemical changewithin the mouth 2. Such drugs can include a mind altering substancesuch as caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, cocaine, lysergic acid diethylamide(“LSD”), methylenedioxymethamphetamine (“MDMA”), ketamine, ormethamphetamine (“Meth”). A report can be generated including anindication of the detected drug. Information regarding smoking, druguse, or alcohol consumption can be transmitted to a parent of a child inwhose mouth the oral monitor 10 is installed.

Sugar from foods in the mouth 2 can be collected through aperture 115 inthe housing 12. The power supply 114 can implement a chemical converterto produce electricity from the collected sugar to power the oralmonitor 10.

Processing of image and sensor data and report generation as describedabove can be performed by one or more processors (“CPU”) 106 on an oralmonitor 10. In such case a report based on processed image or sensordata can be transmitted to a wireless communication device 30, whichdevice 30 can correspond to a person in whose mouth 2 the oral monitor10 is installed or a supervisor (e.g., parent or guardian) of suchperson. Alternatively, some or all of the image and sensor dataprocessing and report generation described above can be performed by acomputing system remote to the oral monitors 10, which remote system canreceive image and sensor data from the oral monitors 10. Such remotesystem can include for example a wireless communication device 30 whichby a processor implements an application to process image and sensordata received from the oral monitor 10 and/or generate reports based onsuch data. Such remote system can alternatively include one or morenetwork connectable servers 50 accessible through one or more networks40 (e.g., the Internet and mobile carrier networks).

The server 50 or wireless communication devices 30 can transmitnotifications including reports generated based on processed imageand/or sensor data to computing devices 60 such as mobile communicationdevices, personal computers, and email and messaging servers.Notifications can be transmitted as emails, short message service (SMS)messages, multimedia messaging service (MMS), or other messaging orreporting protocol for example a protocol enabled by an oral monitoringapplication installed on a computing device 60. The devices 60 cancorrespond to the person in whose mouth 2 the oral monitor 10 isinstalled. Devices 60 can alternatively correspond to a person who ischarged with supervision of the person in whose mouth 2 the oral monitor10 is installed, for example a parent or guardian of a child in whosemouth 2 the oral monitor 10 is installed.

Referring to FIG. 7, a flowchart shows a method 200 performed by theoral monitor 10 via the CPU 106. While the method 200 and associatedprocesses are described with reference to the components shown in FIGS.1 and 6, including the oral monitor 10 and associated hardware 102, themethod 200 may alternatively be performed via other suitable system orsystems. In a step 202 a camera 116 is installed in a mouth 2 of a user.In a step 204 one or more images are captured by the camera 116. In astep 206, a processor determines a health state of the mouth and/or asubstance consumed by the user based on the one or more images captured.In a step 208, a notification is transmitted to a user based on thedetermined health state and/or substance consumed. Alternatively, achemical sensor 108 can be installed in the mouth 2 and the health stateand/or substance (e.g., food sugar) consumed can be determined based onimage data from the camera 116 and/or data from the chemical sensor 108.The user to whom the notification is transmitted can correspond to aperson in whose mouth 2 the oral monitor 10 is installed, oralternatively a supervisor (e.g., parent or guardian) of such person.

Referring to FIG. 8, a flowchart shows a method 300 performed by theoral monitor 10 via the CPU 106. While the method 300 and associatedprocesses are described with reference to the components shown in FIGS.1 and 6, including the oral monitor 10 and associated hardware 102, themethod 300 may alternatively be performed via other suitable system orsystems. In a step 302 a chemical sensor 108 is installed in a mouth ofa user. In a step 304 a substance (e.g., a food sugar) is detected bythe chemical sensor 108. In a step 306, a processor determines if anotification is required based on the detected substance. In a step 308,a notification is transmitted to a user based on the detected substance.The user to whom the notification is transmitted can correspond to aperson in whose mouth 2 the oral monitor 10 is installed, oralternatively a supervisor (e.g., parent or guardian) of such person.

Although features and elements are described above in particularcombinations, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that eachfeature or element can be used alone or in any combination with theother features and elements. Methods described herein may be implementedin a computer program, software, or firmware incorporated in acomputer-readable medium for execution by a computer or processor.

While embodiments have been described in detail above, these embodimentsare non-limiting and should be considered as merely exemplary.Modifications and extensions may be developed, and all suchmodifications are deemed to be within the scope defined by the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An oral monitoring method comprising: providingan oral monitor comprising a camera, a memory capable of image storing,at least one processor, and a wireless transmitter that operates under awireless Ethernet protocol; adhering the oral monitor to a first toothin a mouth; capturing a plurality of images by the camera over a periodof time; determining by the at least one processor based on at least oneof the plurality of images captured a health state of the mouthcomprising an amount of plaque on a second tooth in line with the firsttooth in the mouth and at least one of a number of times a particularsubstance is consumed by the mouth or a number of times a particularactivity is performed by the mouth; and transmitting by the wirelesstransmitter via the wireless Ethernet protocol a notification based onthe amount of plaque on the second tooth in the mouth and based on theat least one of the number of times the particular substance is consumedor the number of times the particular activity is performed by themouth.
 2. An oral monitoring method comprising: providing at least onecamera and at least one chemical sensor; attaching the at least onecamera and the at least one chemical sensor to a tooth in a mouth;capturing a plurality of images by the at least one camera over a periodof time; detecting by the at least one chemical sensor a particularsubstance in the mouth; determining by at least one processor based onthe plurality of images captured and the detecting by the at least onechemical sensor a health state of the mouth comprising a number of timesthe particular substance is consumed by the mouth; and transmitting viaa wireless Ethernet protocol a notification to a user based on thenumber of times the particular substance is consumed by the mouth.
 3. Anoral monitoring system comprising: at least one camera installed in amouth by adhering to a tooth for capturing images over a period of time;a memory configured for storing images; at least one processor thatprocesses images captured by the at least one camera to determine ahealth state of the mouth comprising at least one of a number of times aparticular substance is consumed by the mouth or a number of times aparticular activity is performed by the mouth; and a wirelesstransmitter that operates under a wireless Ethernet protocol thattransmits data corresponding to the captured images, the datacorresponding to the captured images comprising a notification to a userbased on the at least one of the number of times the particularsubstance is consumed by the mouth or the number of times the particularactivity is performed by the mouth.
 4. The oral monitoring system ofclaim 3, further comprising a housing attaching the oral monitoringsystem to an orthodontic apparatus connected to teeth in the mouth. 5.The oral monitoring system of claim 3, the at least one cameracomprising: a first camera positioned within the mouth facing outside ofthe mouth; and a second camera positioned within the mouth facing towarda cheek of the mouth.
 6. The oral monitoring system of claim 3, whereinthe wireless transmitter comprises a wireless transceiver that operatesunder the wireless Ethernet protocol.
 7. The oral monitoring system ofclaim 3, further comprising: a chemical sensor that detects food sugarsin the mouth; the at least one processor that further processes foodsugar information collected by the chemical sensor; and the wirelesstransmitter that transmits data corresponding to the food sugarinformation.
 8. The oral monitoring system of claim 3, the at least oneprocessor further determines tooth brushing based on the images capturedby the at least one camera.
 9. The oral monitoring system of claim 8,wherein the at least one processor applies a classifier to the imagescaptured to determine the tooth brushing.
 10. The oral monitoring systemof claim 3, the at least one camera capturing images of teeth in themouth, the at least one processor further determining based on thecaptured images at least one of an amount of plaque, a formation of acavity, a formation of an abscess, or a dental anomaly in the mouth. 11.The oral monitoring system of claim 10, the at least one processorfurther: determining based on the images captured when a medical anomalyoccurs within the mouth; and transmitting the notification responsive todetermining the medical anomaly.
 12. The oral monitoring system of claim10, the at least one processor further: determining based on the imagescaptured when a threshold amount of plaque has accumulated on teethwithin the mouth; and transmitting the notification responsive todetermining the threshold amount of plaque has accumulated.
 13. The oralmonitoring system of claim 3, the at least one camera capturing imagesof consumption in the mouth, the at least one processor further:determining consumption activities based on the captured images;generating a report based on the consumption activities; andtransmitting the report to the user.
 14. The oral monitoring system ofclaim 13, further comprising a chemical sensor that detects food sugars,the at least one processor further: determining based on the capturedimages and based on detected food sugars a quality of food consumed inthe mouth; and generating the report to comprise an indication of thequality of the food consumed in the mouth.
 15. The oral monitoringsystem of claim 3, the at least one camera capturing images of smoke inthe mouth, the at least one processor: determining based on the capturedimages smoking activity; and generating a report comprising anindication of the smoking activity.
 16. The oral monitoring system ofclaim 3, further comprising a chemical sensor that detects at least oneparticular mind altering substance consumed in the mouth, the at leastone processor further generating a report comprising an indication ofthe at least one particular mind altering substance.
 17. The oralmonitoring system of claim 16, wherein the at least one particular mindaltering substance comprises an illicit drug.
 18. The oral monitoringsystem of claim 16, wherein the at least one particular mind alteringsubstance comprises at least one of alcohol or marijuana.
 19. The oralmonitoring system of claim 3, further comprising a network connectedserver, the at least one processor comprising a particular processor ofthe server, the server: receiving the data transmitted from the wirelesstransmitter; determining by the particular processor of the server thehealth state of the mouth comprising the at least one of the number oftimes the particular substance is consumed by the mouth or the number oftimes the particular activity is performed by the mouth; andtransmitting the notification to the user.
 20. The oral monitoringsystem of claim 3, wherein the at least one camera comprises a videocamera.
 21. The oral monitoring system of claim 3, the system furthercomprising: a housing comprising the at least one camera, the memory,and the at least one processor; and an adhesive for adhering the housingto a surface of the tooth.
 22. An oral monitoring method comprising:providing at least one camera; attaching the at least one camera to atooth in a mouth; capturing a plurality of images by the at least onecamera over a period of time; determining by at least one processorbased on the plurality of images captured a health state of the mouthcomprising at least one of a number of times a particular substance isconsumed by the mouth or a number of times a particular activity isperformed by the mouth; and transmitting via a wireless Ethernetprotocol a notification to a user based on the determined at least oneof the number of times the particular substance is consumed by the mouthor the number of times the particular activity is performed by themouth.
 23. The method of claim 22, further comprising: providing achemical sensor; attaching the chemical sensor in the mouth; detectingby the chemical sensor the particular substance in the mouth;determining further based on the detecting by the chemical sensor thenumber of times the particular substance is consumed by the mouth; andtransmitting the notification to the user further based on the detectingby the chemical sensor of the particular substance in the mouth.
 24. Themethod of claim 23, further comprising determining the number of timesthe particular activity is performed further based on the detecting bythe chemical sensor of the particular substance.
 25. The method of claim23, further comprising: determining by the chemical sensor an amount offood sugar in the particular substance; and classifying the particularsubstance based on the amount of food sugar; wherein the transmittednotification comprises an indication of the classification of theparticular substance.
 26. The method of claim 25, further comprisingdetermining a number of times the classified detected particularsubstance was consumed, wherein the transmitted notification comprisesan indication of the number of times the classified detected particularsubstance was consumed.
 27. The method of claim 23, further comprisingproviding the at least one camera and the chemical sensor in a housingand adhering the housing to a surface of the tooth.
 28. The method ofclaim 22, further comprising: providing a chemical sensor; attaching thechemical sensor in the mouth; detecting by the chemical sensor a foodsugar in the mouth; and transmitting the notification to the userfurther based on the detected food sugar in the mouth.
 29. The method ofclaim 22, wherein the mouth is that of a first person and the user is asecond person who supervises the first person.
 30. The method of claim22, wherein the particular activity is eating.
 31. The method of claim22, wherein the particular activity is teeth brushing.
 32. The method ofclaim 22, wherein attaching the camera in the mouth comprises adheringthe camera to an outside surface of the tooth.
 33. The method of claim22, wherein attaching the at least one camera in the mouth comprisesattaching the at least one camera to an orthodontic apparatus connectedto teeth in the mouth.
 34. The method of claim 22, wherein attaching theat least one camera in the mouth comprises attaching the at least onecamera on the tooth and facing outside of the mouth.
 35. The method ofclaim 22, wherein the particular activity performed is smoking.
 36. Anoral monitoring method comprising: providing at least one camera;providing at least one chemical sensor; attaching the at least onecamera and the at least one chemical sensor to a tooth in a mouth;detecting a substance by the at least one camera and the at least onechemical sensor; determining by the chemical sensor an amount of foodsugar in the substance; classifying the detected substance based on theamount of food sugar; determining a health state of the mouth comprisinga number of times the classified detected substance was consumed by themouth; determining a notification by at least one processor based on theclassified detected substance, the notification comprising an indicationof the number of times the classified detected substance was consumed bythe mouth; and transmitting via a wireless Ethernet protocol thenotification to a user.
 37. The method of claim 36, further comprisingtransmitting the notification responsive to determining that a thresholdnumber of times the classified detected substance was consumed has beenreached.
 38. An oral monitoring method comprising: providing an oralmonitor comprising a camera, a memory that stores images, at least oneprocessor, and a wireless transmitter that operates under a wirelessEthernet protocol; adhering the oral monitor to a surface of a tooth ina mouth; capturing a plurality of images by the camera over a period oftime; determining by the at least one processor based on the pluralityof images captured a health state of the mouth comprising a number oftimes a particular substance is consumed by the mouth; and transmittingby the wireless transmitter via the wireless Ethernet protocol anotification based on the number of times the particular substance isconsumed by the mouth.